Special flights to Bagdogra

TT, Aug. 17: SpiceJet will operate an additional return flight each between Calcutta and Bagdogra on Saturday and Sunday to cope with the rush in this sector after floods in north Bengal cut off rail and road links. The announcement coincided with the state government today requesting the civil aviation ministry to ask airlines not to raise fares for Calcutta-Bagdogra flights because of high demand.

The additional SpiceJet flights on August 19 and 20 are scheduled to arrive in Bagdogra at 7.10am and take off for Calcutta at 7.30am.

Airfares to and from Bagdogra have even trebled over the past few days with trains and buses being cancelled.

The one-way fare for a non-stop flight between Bagdogra and Calcutta scheduled for Friday ranged between Rs 8,630 and Rs 21,660, depending on the airline, when Metro checked online booking sites this evening.

Chief secretary Malay De has written to Rajiv Nayan Choubey, secretary in the ministry of civil aviation, to advise airlines to increase their flights on the Calcutta-Bagdogra sector and keep fares "normal" for at least a fortnight.

On Wednesday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said it was unfair of airlines to raise fares when much of north Bengal was battling floods. "The chief secretary has written to the civil aviation ministry. Raising fares in the middle of a disaster is not fair," Mamata said today.

Bus services between Siliguri and Calcutta resumed today after patchwork repairs on NH-34 at different places near Dalkhola. The North Bengal State Transport Corporation runs three buses either way. Private operators have eight non-AC and six AC buses on this route.

Sources said the government had decided to issue "special permits" to private operators to raise the number of non-AC buses to 12 in either direction.